AfricaBib 
bibliographic database
| Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
 Periodical article |
 Leiden University catalogue |
 WorldCat |
| Title: | Informal Sector Employment and its Contribution to Rural Development: The Case of Eldoret Municipality in Kenya |
| Author: | Nyakaana, Jockey B. |
| Year: | 1996 |
| Periodical: | Eastern and Southern Africa Geographical Journal |
| Volume: | 7 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Period: | December |
| Pages: | 23-42 |
| Language: | English |
| Notes: | biblio. refs., ills., maps |
| Geographic terms: | Kenya East Africa |
| Subjects: | rural development employment informal sector Labor and Employment Economics and Trade Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Development and Technology Urbanization and Migration Economics, Commerce Eldoret (Kenya) |
| Abstract: | Though officially recognized in Kenya since 1988, the informal sector receives very little government assistance. In Eldoret municipality, informal sector activities are concentrated in the central business district and the high density residential areas of Langas, Kamukunji, Huruma, Munyaka, Kingongo and Mathare. The informal sector is an important source of employment, especially since formal jobs are scarce. On the whole, informal sector occupations are characterized by low status and low average incomes, relatively low inputs of capital in relation to labour, low formal education and skills learnt outside the formal educational system, such as quick-wittedness, manual dexterity and physical endurance. Entry to the informal sector is either as a wage employee or a self-employed entrepreneur. The service sector is dominated by females, who are mainly involved in the retail trade of foodstuffs. The men dominate the production sector, which requires specialized skills and more capital. Workers in the urban informal sector contribute to the development of the rural areas through remittances, predominantly financial, which are mainly spent on food and clothing, school fees and farm requirements. The rural population also benefits from the consumable items brought by visiting urban workers and by visitors returning from the urban areas. A worker's level of income, marital status and the residence of the spouse significantly affect the level of remittances to the rural areas. App., bibliogr., note, ref., sum. |